Council pays out nearly £1.8m on allowances

David Sedgwick

Nearly £1.8m has been paid out in allowances and expenses for councillors at North Tyneside Council.

Figures from the Taxpayers’ Alliance show North Tyneside Council paid £585,000 in 2012/13, £595,000 in 2013/14, and £590,000 in 2014/15.

The figures are part of the £699m that has been paid out nationally to councillors.

Included in North Tyneside’s figures – which show no basic pay rise over the three years – is £61,734 paid to the Elected Mayor.

A council spokesperson said: “Councillors’ and mayoral allowances are set by an independent panel made up of people with a wealth of experience in business, finance and local government.

“The panel considers the allowances are appropriate given the responsibilities and the many hours councillors and the Elected Mayor spends working on behalf of residents.

“This report shows that North Tyneside’s basic allowance is, out of 36 metropolitan councils, the sixth lowest in England. Our Elected Mayor’s allowance is the lowest of all metropolitan councils with elected mayors. Or if you take all English councils with an elected mayor, it is the third lowest.

“At a meeting of the Council on January 21, it was agreed that there would be no change in allowances for 2016/2017.

“We are committed to ensuring that the council continues to be efficient and well run – offering excellent value for residents and protecting many services people have told us are important to them.”